Glossary

Glossary

AIM Network: Avionics Interface Modular Network. The name for the Invictus Cockpit Systems cockpit networking platform. Covers the boards, the manager software, and the protocol that connects them.

AIM Ghost Joystick: A virtual HID joystick device created by the AIM driver. Required for BMS input; not used by DCS or the panel boards themselves. Up to five are created for a full F-16C setup.

Board: A Sidewinder or Phoenix powered device. Connects to your cockpit network via PoE Ethernet and hosts GPIO pins, SPI/I²C buses, and (on Sidewinder) potentiometer channels for your cockpit panel hardware.

BMS: Falcon BMS. A community-developed F-16 flight simulator.

Callback: BMS's name for a bindable cockpit function. The manager's keyfile maps cockpit controls to BMS callbacks.

DCS: DCS World. A combat flight simulator made by Eagle Dynamics.

GPIO: General Purpose Input/Output. A digital pin on the board that can read a switch (input) or drive an indicator lamp (output).

HID: Human Interface Device. The USB device class that covers keyboards, mice, and game controllers. BMS reads cockpit inputs via HID.

I²C: A two-wire serial bus (SDA + SCL) used to connect external components like a Caution Panel to Sidewinder expansion channels.

JST PH: The connector family used on all AIM board signal headers. 2mm pitch. All signal connections (switches, encoders, pots) use JST PH except backlighting channels.

Keyfile: A BMS .key file that maps cockpit controls to BMS callbacks. The manager generates Invictus AIM F-16.key during BMS setup.

Micro MATE-N-LOK: The TE Connectivity connector used on AIM board backlighting channels (TE 2-1445093-2 board header, 1445022-2 wire-side housing). 3mm pitch, 2-position.

MonitorSetup.lua: A DCS configuration file that defines which desktop pixel regions DCS uses for secondary display viewports. The manager generates AIM_MFDs.lua in your DCS Saved Games folder.

OTA: Over-the-Air. The method used to flash firmware to panel boards over the cockpit network, without USB.

Phoenix: The AIM panel board with 16 GPIO pins and 8 I²C channels. No potentiometer/ADC channels.

PoE: Power over Ethernet. AIM boards are powered by IEEE 802.3at (PoE+) switches.

Pot / Potentiometer: An analog rotary sensor with three terminals. Used for volume knobs, trim wheels, BARO knobs, and other continuously-variable controls. Sidewinder boards have 8 potentiometer channels (P1-P8); Phoenix has none.

P1-P8: The eight analog potentiometer channels on a Sidewinder board. Numbered separately from GPIO pins.

RTT Client: A BMS application (RTTClient64.exe, in [BMS install]\Tools\RTTRemote\) that reads cockpit display textures exported by BMS and renders them into windows on secondary monitors on the same PC. This is what the manager configures via Apply BMS Displays.

RTT Server: A BMS feature that streams cockpit display textures over a local network to a different computer (so a second PC can show your MFDs/DED/etc.). The manager does not configure RTT Server and leaves its settings untouched.

RTTRemote: The BMS tool folder ([BMS install]\Tools\RTTRemote\) that contains both RTT Client and RTT Server, along with RTTClient.ini. It's a location, not a feature.

Sidewinder: The AIM panel board with 46 GPIO pins, 8 potentiometer channels (P1-P8), 2 I²C channels, and 2 SPI channels.

SPI: Serial Peripheral Interface. A four-wire bus (CLK, MOSI, MISO, CS) used to connect display and LED shift-register ICs to the board. Each SPI channel can carry multiple devices via separate CS lines.

VFT5: Viper Force Transducer Gen 5. The Invictus USB side-stick controller. Connects directly over USB; does not use the AIM Network, but is configurable in Cockpit Manager.

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See also: What You Need, FAQ